Monday, July 2, 2012

"We must practice
mindfulness: watching the mind and bringing it back to the present
moment again and again. That is perhaps the most essential component of
any training. You can’t be somewhere else mentally while your training
is going on here.”

-Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

“Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on
purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to things as they
are.”–Williams, Teasdale, Segal, and Kabat-Zinn, The Mindful Way Through Depression

If your practice is good,
you may become proud of it. What you do is good, but something more is
added to it. Pride is extra. Right effort is to get rid of something
extra.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Begginer's Mind

If you want to read a letter from the Buddha's world, it is necessary to understand Buddha's world.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Letters from Emptiness

All of you are perfect just as you are and you could use a little improvement.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: "Practicing Peace in Times of War" by Pema Chodron, p. 31

As soon as you see
something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you
intellectualize something, it is no longer what you saw.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunryu_Suzuki#Quotations

Everything is perfect, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: http://www.rochesterunitarian.org/1996-97/970427.html

In Japan we have the phrase shoshin,
which means "beginner's mind." The goal of practice is always to keep
our beginner's mind. Suppose you recite the Prajna Paramita Sutra only
once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would happen to you
if you recited it twice, three times, four times, or more? You might
easily lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will
happen in your other Zen practices. For a while you will keep your
beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years
or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the
limitless meaning of original mind.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

For Zen students the most
important thing is not to be dualistic. Our "original mind" includes
everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within
itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This
does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready
mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open
to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in
the expert's mind there are few.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

In the beginner's mind
there is no thought, "I have attained something." All self-centered
thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no
thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn
something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind
is compassionate, it is boundless. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our
school, always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless
original mind.
Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with
all beings, and can actually practice.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

So the most difficult
thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a
deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature,
you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I
know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the
real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful
about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to
appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret of Zen practice.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

You are perfect as you are, and you could use a little work.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Tricycle

I have discovered that it
is necessary, absolutely necessary, to believe in nothing. That is, we
have to believe in something which has no form and no color - something
which exists before all forms and colors appear. This is a very
important point. No matter what god or doctrine you believe in, if you
become attached to it, your belief will be based more or less on a
self-centered idea... In constantly seeking to actualize your ideal,
you will have no time for composure. But if you are always prepared for
accepting everything we see as something appearing from nothing... then
at that moment you will have perfect composure.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Source: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

If your mind is empty, it
is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the
beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there
are few.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

When we inhale, the air
comes into the inner world. When we exhale, the air goes out to the
outer world. The inner world is limitless, and the outer world is also
limitless. We say "inner world" or "outer world" but actually, There is
just one whole world.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

In Japan we have the
phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind"
includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient
within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty
mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for
anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are
many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

At high noon or in the dark moonless night there is a light. Can you see it? And, by the way, who are you?

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Tai Shimano visited
Shunryu Suzuki. "How are you feeling these days?" Suzuki replied,
"They have a new name for me: Cancer!"

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.

- Shunryu Suzuki-roshi (1905 - 1971)

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find
perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is
difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of
transience, we suffer.

Local Weather

Philosophy

Vegetarian Ideal

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.- Albert Einstein

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. - Howard Zinn

When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion.- Ethiopian Proverb

Disclaimer

My Blogs have been like a second hard drive to me.

My Blogs have been used as a second hard drive, in case of crashes in equipment. Google is a safe place to store information collected while surfing the Web. If any content does not seem to adhere to Creative Commons Rules and you want it removed, please contact me to have it removed from the blog. Everything is true to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks, for visiting this blog.

Friends

We all need a best friend.

SKEPTIC

Listen to all, plucking a feather from every passing goose, but, follow no one absolutely.

Sanskrit Proverb

Look at this day, for it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course lie all the realities and verities of existence, the bliss of growth, the splendor of action, the glory of power.

For yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today, well lived, makes every day a dream, a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

In the pursuit of learning,every day something is acquired.In the pursuit of Tao,every day something is dropped.Less and less is doneUntil non-action is achieved.

"The field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the present).

At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom.

At the group level, it is about the civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship: responsibility, nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation,tolerance, and work ethic."

Compassion

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."

~Plato

Take a deep breath

Feel the stress leave your body.

Living Well

Guiding principles:

Change is a constant

adapt to survive and thrive

flexibility is the master skill

habits are the key to lifestyle and accomplishment

we can change current habits and form new habits

a simple life is a satisfying life.

Blog Archive

About Me

Jennifer believes we live in the garden of Eden and I believe that we are destroying it. Our saving grace is within ourselves, our faith, and our mindfulness. We need to make a conscious effort to respect and preserve all life.

Live every day of your life.

Be Here Now.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate your mind on the present moment.

Disclamer

My Blogs have been like a second hard drive to me.

My Blogs have been used as a second hard drive, in case of crashes in equipment. Google is a safe place to store information collected while surfing the WWW. If any content does not seem to adhere to Creative Commons Rules and you want it removed, please contact me to have it removed from the blog. Everything is true to the best of my knowledge.